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****
Bane was dead.
Just like that?
This outcome defied all logic, and all expectations.
Bane, the man who had broken Batman's back, seized control of Gotham City, and brought even the Department of Defense to its knees… was now lying lifeless on the ground.
Could anyone truly comprehend it?
"I'll destroy him, wanna bet?"
That line echoed again and again in the minds of those who had heard it.
Back when Allen said it, they laughed.
Some mocked him openly; others dismissed him as insane.
But now… now that wild, impossible declaration had become a terrifying reality.
In the heavy silence that followed, Allen calmly began walking toward one of the nearby thugs.
The man stiffened as Allen's eyes locked onto him.
Panic seized his body.
He wanted, no he needed to run, but his legs refused to move. It was as if fear had turned his body to stone.
Allen stopped in front of him, his gaze calm but piercing.
A slow, unnerving smile curved on his face.
"I remember you," he said casually.
"Didn't you say before that anyone who believes me is a fool?"
"…Yes… I mean, I'm sorry," the thug stammered, his voice cracking with fear.
Allen patted him lightly on the shoulder, almost friendly.
"No need to be scared. I just want to know… do you believe me now?"
"I believe you, I believe everything you say! I'm sorry, it turned out I was the fool! The biggest fool!" the thug cried, nodding so frantically his head looked like it might fly off his shoulders.
Allen chuckled and tilted his head. "Then if I said I'd blow your head off with one punch… would you believe that too?"
The thug froze in place.
If he said no, it might be seen as a challenge.
If he said yes… he might really die right then and there.
Cold sweat drenched his face.
Allen sighed and clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Just a question and you're already breaking down? What a letdown. I guess…"
"Y-You'll let me go? You're letting me go?" the man asked, his voice cracking with hope.
"…just don't bet with me the next time."
Allen's fist moved like lightning.
Even a monster like Bane couldn't withstand that kind of raw force, this low-level thug didn't stand a chance.
The impact came with a sickening crunch.
The man was launched off his feet, flying backward like a ragdoll.
His face was mangled beyond recognition, bone and limbs twisted grotesquely.
"A bet is a bet …" Allen muttered.
When Allen had said if anyone wanted to bet if he could destroy Bane, this guy said he was a fool.
Then Allen looked on, his cold gaze sweeping over the stunned crowd.
"Well?" he said, voice calm yet commanding.
*"Don't just stand there. Get moving."
Those words snapped the spell.
The thugs, once full of bravado, turned and bolted like frightened animals.
James Gordon, to his credit, reacted quickly and began barking orders.
With renewed morale, the police surged forward and started rounding up the fleeing criminals.
Now that was a reversal.
Amid the chaos, Barbara Gordon managed to free herself from her handcuffs.
Still visibly shaken, she made her way through the commotion and led a shell-shocked Talia al Ghul over to Allen.
"So, this is what you meant earlier," Barbara said, a mix of admiration and relief in her voice.
"You really planned all this; you pretended to betray us just to draw Bane out. You took a huge risk."
She paused, then added, "Why didn't you tell us beforehand? I seriously thought you had turned on us."
"And how did you even come up with this plan? I mean, I didn't see any of it coming."
There was a spark in her eyes now, the kind that comes from witnessing something truly extraordinary.
She looked at Allen the way a student might look at a master, impressed, eager to learn and almost giddy.
It was as if she'd completely forgotten he had punched her earlier.
Allen gave her a solemn, teacher-like expression.
"Pay attention to the details. And Start small," he said.
Then he added.
"Because you're not capable of big things."
Barbara froze in place.
She had expected insight, wisdom, and maybe even some clever mentor-like takeaway.
Instead, she got insulted.
Her expression twisted.
'This bastard! He really can't help himself.'
Allen ignored her glare and turned to look at Talia seriously.
"This isn't over. Are you planning to just stand there and stare at me?"
Talia's expression changed instantly.
'Is he… is he trying to expose me?'
She clenched her fists unconsciously.
This man, had just destroyed her plans and crushed Bane like a bug.
He could easily reveal her true identity with a single sentence.
Her mission to destroy Gotham… her years of preparation… could unravel in seconds.
"The nuclear reactor! We need to find the reactor!" Barbara suddenly shouted, eyes going wide with realization.
She grabbed Talia's arm and took off toward the city hall.
Talia instinctively tensed, ready to strike or escape, until Allen's voice called out behind them.
"Cheer up."
'What…?'
Talia glanced back, stunned.
He gave her a thumbs up.
He wasn't exposing her?
Allen gave her a faint smile and turned away, walking off as if none of this concerned him anymore.
As for why let her go?
Because it was more fun this way.
'Let her keep hiding in the shadows, working secretly to sabotage the city, only to fail again and again...'
After all, Batman would eventually return from his recovery, only to find Bane already dead.
But even the Dark Knight needed a villain.
Someone to oppose, someone to define him.
Justice was born from evil.
Without it… could Gotham even be Gotham?
As the chaos died down, Allen quietly left the place.
Sometime later, a loud roar echoed above, the Batmobile shot across the sky in flight mode, its dark silhouette vanishing into the horizon.
Yes, his Batmobile had flight mode.
Silence returned.
****
On the road in Gotham, a single car sat parked…
Allen's car.
It looked normal, undisturbed.
But then… it began to shake.
Thump! Thump!
Bang!
With a loud snap, the trunk popped open.
Harley Quinn tumbled out in a flurry of moves, her blonde pigtails messy, and her clothes crumpled.
She blinked at the empty, chaotic street.
"…Huh?"
She had snuck into the trunk that morning, planning to hitch a ride and leave Gotham with Allen in the car that he had used while living with her.
A classic Harley move.
But instead…
She had missed everything.
There she stood, utterly dumbfounded, as silence settled over the battlefield where the fate of Gotham had just been decided.
'So, this is what despair feels like…'